Turkey says open to alternatives to Chinese missile defence system

MUNICH (REUTERS) - Turkey's Foreign Minister said on Sunday Ankara had not yet decided which missile defence system it would buy and it was open to bids from other companies besides the current Chinese favourite if these guaranteed joint production.

NATO member Turkey's decision last September to choose a US$3.4 billion (S$4.34 billion) offer from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) irked Ankara's Western allies as the Chinese company is under US sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

US and NATO officials also voiced concerns that a Chinese product would not be compatible with other NATO systems.

"Turkey did not decide yet which system should be bought.. for us three criteria are important - joint production, the time of delivery and price," Ahmet Davutoglu told a panel at the Munich Security Conference.